Hour 2 - Will Iran Determine the Midterms?

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

Episode: Hour 2 - Will Iran Determine the Midterms?
Date: April 7, 2026
Hosts: Clay Travis and Buck Sexton
Podcast Network: iHeartPodcasts

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Episode Overview

This episode centers on rising tensions with Iran and the profound stakes for President Trump’s administration ahead of the midterm elections. Clay and Buck engage callers and debate whether Trump's aggressive moves against Iran will secure or imperil his administration’s domestic agenda and the GOP’s political future. Discussions also cover accountability in conservative media, the risk of criminalizing political opponents, the possible precedent of preemptive pardons, and long-term impacts on American politics, interwoven with characteristic humor and candor.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Iran Crisis & Impact on the Midterms

• Clay and Buck field speculation about possible extreme military actions against Iran, pushing back firmly against rumors of a nuclear strike:
  • "I think your brains are broken if you are arguing, oh my God, Trump is going to drop a nuclear bomb on Iran." (Clay, [00:45])
• Both hosts agree that while the situation is serious, neither oil nor stock markets are showing panic, suggesting confidence that “nothing crazy is going to happen.”
• The hosts compare the situation to past U.S. foreign policy moments, highlighting specific lessons (especially regarding North Korea and Bill Clinton) and explore Trump’s apparent motivation to solve generational problems, even at considerable political risk.
  • "Trump could have punted on this whole thing, Buck. He could have just said, hey, I'm out in 29. We'll let the rest of the world deal with... whether Iran has nuclear weapons in the future. I think Trump is genuinely trying to fix things for generations that he's not going to live to see." (Clay, [11:10])

2. Callers Challenge & Expand on Show’s Analysis

Caller Taylor (Columbus, OH)

• Appreciates the show’s willingness to “call a spade a spade” and not act as cheerleaders but urges more accountability for Trump. He warns that independent-minded voters may stay home in the midterms if they don’t see Trump delivering on core issues—and expresses skepticism about the country’s appetite for war:
  • "I'm asking you guys, because I think you're the best at what you do... Who is holding the Trump administration accountable?" (Taylor, [02:55])

Hosts’ Response

• Buck reflects on media incentives to be extreme and the difficulty of accountability today:
  • "The way to get attention and clicks in the online space on the right is to just be insane. It's to just be completely nuts... but that doesn't happen anymore on the Right." (Buck, [03:53])
• On Trump’s Iran gamble: Buck likens it to poker, with Trump pushing all his chips in—the outcome now hinges on whether it’s a big win or devastating loss with major domestic ripple effects ([05:55]).

3. War in Iran: Losses, Risks, and Historical Parallel

• Clay points out that the six-week war has resulted in 13 American deaths—tragic, but historically low compared to past operations, and argues some domestic cities are more dangerous than the war zone.

  • "If you had to choose whether you wanted to be an American soldier fighting in Iran or just a regular American living in some neighborhoods on the south side of Chicago... the danger on the south side... is higher than the danger in the skies above Iran." (Clay, [07:26])

• The hosts stress the decision to intervene in Iran stems from both pragmatic and idealistic motives—economic (oil/gas stability), moral (opposing authoritarian regimes), and anticipatory (learning from the North Korea nuclear precedent).

4. Divided Reactions & Uncertain Outcomes

• Buck cautions against premature certainty, noting both risks and potential game-changing upside for the Middle East:
  • "There's also a possibility that this thing continues to be a little bit of a mess... and he gets absolutely shellacked in the midterms for this. And then we will know that it was not a good gamble, right?" (Buck, [13:09])
• Predicts critics will find fault regardless of outcome:
  • "If Trump announces that there's a deal, the same people who said he's going to nuke Iran are going to be upset and say the deal isn't good enough. Just a prediction." (Clay, [14:17])

5. The Specter of Political Retribution & Pardons

Caller Dave (Logan, UT)

• Expresses concern about Democrats prosecuting Trump administration officials after a shift in power, asking if anything can be done to prevent this ([19:29]).
• Buck suggests Trump will need to issue preemptive pardons for many in his administration, anticipating that blanket pardons may become the new norm:
  • "I think Trump is going to have to pardon... a whole range of people because they were part of his administration." (Buck, [21:28])

6. Long-Term Risks: One-Party Rule?

Caller Tom (Florida)

• Raises alarm that if Democrats gain control, they would move to abolish the filibuster, pack the courts, add senators, and naturalize illegal immigrants, predicting perpetual Democratic rule ([22:57]).
• Both hosts agree that it is highly likely Democrats will at some point hold all levers of government and, if so, move aggressively to cement power.
  • "They'll go for the jugular and try to create a one-party state. I think that's the plan." (Buck, [25:20])

7. Does Foreign Policy Outweigh Domestic Risk?

• Responding to a caller who says decapitating Iran is worth any midterm losses ([27:09]), Buck points out losing Congress would spell the end of the Trump domestic agenda.
• Clay and Buck discuss the importance of patience, historical learning, and Trump’s broad (perhaps reckless) ambition to remake the future—even knowing he may never reap the rewards.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Extreme Predictions:

  • "I will wager any amount of money... that we will not drop a nuclear bomb on Iran." (Clay, [00:35])
  • "Space aliens will land tomorrow... they will say, we are actually all obeying Hillary Clinton." (Buck, [04:11])

• On Media & Accountability:

  • "The way to get attention and clicks in the online space on the right is to just be insane." (Buck, [03:53])

• On War Losses:

  • "I wish that we had lost no life at all in this event... but that is one of the most successful operations of war in the history of the United States." (Clay, [07:04])

• On Pardoning Officials:

  • "I think Trump is going to end up having to give preemptive pardons to a lot of members of his administration." (Buck, [20:34])

• On Political Strategy:

  • "If Trump pulls us through this and it ends up being a win, a true win or not, I would say, yeah, I think Trump's gonna... pull this out. But we, we're not there yet." (Buck, [31:48])

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Speculation over Iran/Trump's “nuclear” gamble: [00:35]–[01:40]
• Caller Taylor on accountability/war appetite among the young: [02:12]–[03:53]
• Hosts on conservative media environment/Trump’s Iran calculation: [03:53]–[06:50]
• Comparing foreign and domestic dangers: [06:50]–[08:33]
• Trump foreign policy motivations/North Korea historical parallels: [08:33]–[12:03]
• Managing uncertainty and partisan reaction: [12:03]–[15:22]
• Caller Dave on potential Democratic prosecution/pardons: [19:29]–[22:11]
• Caller Tom on one-party rule scenario: [22:57]–[25:20]
• Caller Alison on prioritizing Iran over midterms/rebuttal: [27:09]–[29:16]
• Competency of Trump’s cabinet: [29:48]–[31:48]

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Tone & Style

The hosts maintain their trademark blend of pointed analysis, skepticism, and humor—often poking fun at political posturing across the spectrum while remaining grounded in their conservative perspectives. Callers’ frustrations, hopes, and anxieties about the consequences of the Iran crisis and the direction of the GOP are given real consideration, with the hosts issuing both practical and philosophical responses.

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In Summary

Clay and Buck deliver a thorough and engaging exploration of the stakes involved in Trump’s high-risk approach to Iran, emphasizing both the uncertainty of outcomes and the far-reaching ripple effect for U.S. politics. The episode captures the conservative audience’s divided feelings—skepticism, loyalty, anxiety, and impatience—as the country and GOP approach pivotal midterm elections amidst global crisis.

Transcript

[A]

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.

[B]

Welcome back in our number two Clay Travis Buck Sexton show. As we wait for the deadline, 8pm Eastern on baited Breath, people are in my mentions. I just jumped in on social media. Buck, we're going to take some of your calls. We got a bunch of different interesting calls here, but they're saying Trump is going to drop a nuclear bomb on Iran. I will wager any amount of money that anybody out there listening has that we will not drop a nuclear bomb on Iran. And I feel very, very confident about this. But if some of you have lots of money that you want to put on the line here, I think your brains are broken. If you are arguing, oh my God, Trump is going to drop a nuclear bomb on Iran. But there's actually a lot of people there, Buck, arguing Trump will drop a nuclear bomb on Iran. Markets, by the way, actually pretty calm. The oil market not moving very much at all. The stock market not moving very much at all. There is a sort of genuine, I think, comfort that nothing crazy is going to happen. And we will see at 8pm Eastern tonight or maybe before I will mention, Todd Blanche, who is the acting attorney general is having a press conference right now at the Department of Justice. We are monitoring that being covered live by Fox News. He is the acting attorney General replacing Pam Bondi. And we will update you if any major news comes out of that. But Buck, we got a bunch of callers here and I thought they had several different interesting takes here. And Taylor, I'll start with Taylor. Taylor is from Columbus, Ohio. He says he voted for President Trump three times. That you are an independent but that you are upset at both Buck and me because we are not tough enough on Trump. Taylor, you have the floor from Columbus, Ohio.

[C]

Yeah, you know, I actually think you guys are way better than anybody else in, in conservative media because you actually will call a spade a spade, which is why I keep listening to you guys. But it just feels like every time I turn on the other guys, Fox News, it's, it's just one big cheerleading gush fest. And I'll tell you, it's people like me who came out in droves in 2024 and gave Trump in the GOP a total mandate. And you hit it on the head last segment. If the Democrats were to get a mandate like that, like what we saw Trump get in 2024, it would steamroll this country with the agenda. And I gotta say, guys, Pam Bondi was an utter disaster. Krissy Noem, total disaster. All this Covid fraud, all this, Medicare fraud, Somali fraud, election fraud. It's been totally forgotten about, seemingly by this administration. Now we're facing a war that if this goes off the rails with Iran, I'm telling you, people in my generation do not have a stomach for this. I'm asking you guys because I think you're the best at what you do on this side of things. Who is holding the Trump administration accountable? Because we are the ones who gave him this mandate. And I'll tell you, there are millions of people like me who at this point are thinking of sitting this one out in the midterms. So, Taylor, I want to see how this Iran thing plays out, but I think someone needs to get in Trump's ear and say, hey, we gave you this mandate. You need to start delivering on these things.

[A]

So here's, here's what I would say. Taylor, first of all, really appreciate the call and also the words of support for the show because it means a lot to us because Clay and I, especially in the Internet ecosystem, you know, we're very fortunate, thanks to iHeart, that we're on almost 600 radio stations. But also we operate in the online space like other people do. And these days, the way to get attention and clicks in the online space on the right is to just be insane. It's to just be completely nuts, say wild stuff, no accountability, make crazy predictions, say, I will bet my career that space aliens will land tomorrow. They will rip off their humanoid faces, they will be lizards, and they will say, we are actually all obeying Hillary Clinton. Like I can say that. And that's interesting. But then tomorrow comes and I would hope that the audience would hold me to account. But that doesn't happen anymore on the Right. So I'll just, I'll put that out there first and foremost. So I appreciate you and others because they're choosing to listen to this show instead of some of the crap that's out there, make those distinctions. So thank you. And I really mean this from the bottom of my heart. It speaks well to your discernment and your intellect. Ok, so there's that. Beyond that, everything that you've said I think is completely fair. You know, I'm maybe too nice sometimes about people, especially if I think they're well intentioned. I think it's a general thing in my analysis that maybe is, you know, in political commentary could be a shortcoming. Quite honestly, if I feel like someone's a good person. Look, Christine Ohm shot her dog. She got no, there was no quarter, no benefit for me after that thing, okay, I didn't like that. And we, we had that out on the show and everyone knows how I feel about it. And among other things, by the way, not just the dog shooting, but so with Pam Bondi, I think I go, maybe I go a little soft. Her record was not good in her first year. It just wasn't. But then again, I'm saying that, right? So that's where I would come down on that. But on the most important thing in Trump, I want to hand this to you because I think our callers hit like this is the zeit. This is what's so critical right now because if it goes wrong, it goes wrong in the midterms. The midterms goes wrong, the Trump agenda is over. Ok, the party's over, folks. We're going to, it's going to get ugly after the midterms if we lose the House and certainly if we lose the House in the Senate, Clay, it's like Trump is the chief poker player and he has put a whole mound of chips in the front, in the middle of the table on this Iran thing. If he wins, if he gets this done, I mean, that's amazing. So I'm not going to hit a guy. I'm not going to come after a guy for making a, it's a big gamble, a big bet. Before we know what's happened to now, would I have made the bet? No. But I'm not Donald Trump and I'm not the commander in chief. Him putting all these chips on the table this way, Clay, to me, if it comes back a big win, great. If it comes back snake eyes, we will hold the administration to account as much as we can here. And you know, God help our country because we're going to have some tough, tough conversations ahead when Democrats take control, because that's what I see happening. What do you think?

[B]

So I have obviously a lot of thoughts. Unfortunately, we have a big show so we could share most of them. Look, I think Trump, if you want to criticize him, has been trying to fix too many things simultaneously. There's a lot of broken things out there. I think we also live in an era where whatever Trump does, there is a concerted opposition of people that's brains are broken, that are lined up to convince you that it's the worst thing they've ever seen. Right now, we have been at war with Iran for six weeks. Thirteen American soldiers have died. I wish that we had lost no life at all in this, in this event. With that, we're currently in with Iran, but that is one of the most successful operations of war in the history of the United States. Joe Biden couldn't leave Afghanistan without 13 people dying. 40 plus people have died and been murdered in Chicago since this war started. If you had to choose whether you wanted to be an American soldier fighting in Iran or just a regular American living in some neighborhoods on the south side of Chicago, it's almost to the point, seriously, where the danger on the south side of Chicago is higher than the danger in the skies above Iran.

[A]

To be fair, Clay, though, people would say, you know, if you live in Chicago, you have to live where you live. We didn't have to. We didn't have to start an air campaign against Iran. Right. So there's. But their position isn't that it's so few casualties or whether it is few or not. The position of those who are upset with Trump is it should be zero. We should not have lost a single American life in this.

[B]

Well, and that goes to the argument of whether you trust Trump with the decision that he has made in Iran. I see all of these connected. I see Venezuela, I see Cuba, I see Iran connected directly. And I think Trump is seeing governments that are opposed to basic human rights and freedom that are close to toppling, and he has decided he's going to take them out while he can. Now, Venezuela seems to be going fantastically well. There's almost zero discussion about what's going on in Venezuela. That's a sign that things are going really well. Cuba, if we hadn't allowed Russia to deliver a couple of ships, there basically wouldn't have been able to even continue to exist as a country. We can, at any point in time, I believe, decide what's going to happen in Cuba with Iran. Trump believes. And again, you don't have to sign on to this, although I do think there's some cogency to this, that because of the power of Iran to control some so much of the flow, the flow of oil and gas, that there is basically a surcharge on what oil and gas costs because of their government and the fact that they can't be relied upon. And as a result, he believes that if there is a more stable government, that we do not worry about having nuclear weapons, that things will be better for American commerce in the years ahead. To me, again, this is overreach. The easiest thing for Trump to have done was just show up and not really rock the boat very much. And as a result, there wouldn't be these risks that he's Taking. And this, I think, is the number one way to really sum it up. I think Trump sees what happened with North Korea, and I think Bill Clinton regrets the way that he handled North Korea. And Trump wants to solve the problem of Iran potentially having nuclear weapons. If we could go back in time, I bet if we got Bill Clinton on this program and. And other than sexual relations with Monica in the White House. Right. Of the decisions that Bill Clinton made that were directly related to American foreign policy. I bet I went back and read all about this, Buck. I bet he wishes that Jimmy Carter hadn't parachuted into North Korea. For those of you who forgot how this all went, Trump, I mean, Clinton was all prepared to attack North Korea and try to wipe out their nuclear ambitions. And then Jimmy Carter said, I'm going to go meet with the North Koreans and I'll get us a deal. And he did that, and he went in and the deal was that North Korea was never going to have nuclear weapons. And, Buck, what did they do? They got nuclear weapons. It is both imminently rational for North Korea and for Iran to want nuclear weapons because it guarantees the government will be in power forever, and imminently rational for countries like ours to want Iran to not join North Korea in and to keep them from ever having nuclear weapons. Trump could have punted on this whole thing, Buck. He could have just said, hey, I'm out in 29. We'll let the rest of the world deal with. With whether Iran has nuclear weapons in the future. I think Trump is genuinely trying to fix things for generations that he's not going to live to see. And that is a substantial overreach and ambition and intent. And if it doesn't pan out to your point, he's put a lot of chips in the table. And some people are going to say he should have just left Iran alone. North Korea's got nuclear weapons. What do we care? What do we care if Iran gets nuclear weapons? I think there are some people who would say that.

[A]

I just feel like there are a lot of people who are declaring this amazing or awful when they don't know the score. We don't know. And so how can you be in a position that that's just people looking for a way to justify their own view of Mitty's policy, their own view of Trump. There is still a possibility here of, I think, a high. I think it's a probability better than 50.

[C]

50.

[A]

I wouldn't say it's a sure thing that Trump manages to completely change the trajectory of the Middle east. And put an end to the. The Middle east can never be stable. It's just like a perpetual warfare. Jihadists blow themselves up. Crazy, crazy zone. Okay. There's a possibility that he changes that trajectory in a way that is a once in a, once in a lifetime opportunity. There's also a possibility that this thing continues to be a little bit of a mess and maybe he does more damage to Iran. Maybe he lands some US Troops on the shores of Hormuz because they won't open Hormuz. Maybe we take some more losses and things get uglier and worse and he gets absolutely shellacked in the midterms for this. And then we will know that it was not a good gamble, right?

[B]

Yes.

[A]

We don't know yet. And I'm just trying to be honest with you about this. There's some people that want us to say it's amazing. Some people want us to say it's terrible. We talk about what has happened and what we think is happening. But tomorrow is going to be very different from today in terms of the scoreboard for Iran. I know, I'm sorry, that it's a war and it's not a game. But in terms of the, the wisdom or lack thereof of this entire operation, we'll see what happens with this red line tonight. But because this is serious stuff, I don't think it's. I don't think it's intellectually honest to just get dug into one side and either take out the pom poms or take out the sledgehammer and pretend like that's being fair to the situation. I do have faith, Clay, still, that Trump will pull this thing out. If he doesn't, We. We will say that this was a blunder and it will be apparent to everyone then. But I feel like prejudging the outcome from our perspective doesn't do any. What's the point of that?

[B]

I'll just give you this prediction for tonight. If Trump announces that there's a deal, the same people who said he's going to nuke Iran are going to be upset and say the deal isn't good enough. Just a prediction. Like what perspective of reasoned analysis could lead you to he's going to nuke Iran to. If he doesn't nuke Iran and he announces a peace deal, they're going to say the peace deal isn't good enough. I can tell you exactly what their reaction is going to be.

[A]

I would rather be wrong in my analysis or my assessment and have good things happen for America than the other way around. Unfortunately, not a lot of people in our business are acting like that recently because whatever happens, they're kind of rooting against Trump on this one. And I mean from the right. And to me, that's just. That's something that we would never tolerate in terms of the commentary from Democrats without the harshest of rejoinders. But there are people that just want to be right about this thing, which means they hope that Trump fails and

[B]

a lot of troops die. And a lot of troops die. Like they would celebrate if 50American troops die in the next year.

[A]

If you want to hammer Trump after this thing turns into a debacle. Yeah. And that's why we have elections and. Yeah, then we'll know. But to make predictions and then claim that you're on the side of the angels here when your predictions are all of calamity, I don't understand that.

[B]

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[A]

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[B]

Welcome back in Clay Travis Buck Sexton show. Okay, as we await the 8pm deadline, President Trump, we will take a bunch of your calls here and I'm going to try to go in the order of. Well, I can't even tell how long you've been waiting, so tough break there. But let's start with I know Dave in Logan, Utah has been waiting a little while. So let me start with him. Dave, appreciate you. You listening? What you got for us?

[C]

Yeah, well, first of all, let me say I was glad to hold the weight. I appreciate you guys. I appreciate you raising the bar on the networks too. I'm calling because you know, you mentioned the Rep. Who was bringing up the impeachment again against Trump and all these blue states that are talking about prosecuting Trump administration members once Trump is out of office and the next administration is in, if it's Democratic administration. So I was wondering, other than, you know, continually having Republicans in office, which I wish would happen, is there anything from your guys's perspective that can be done either by Congress, by the president or by the people to prevent Democrats from retroactively going back and prosecuting these members of the administration for doing their job is protecting America and trying to make America great? Makes me sick what they're trying to do, but I wonder if there's anything that you guys can think of that can be done to help protect those members of the administration.

[B]

Thank you for the call. Don't put Democrats in power. I think that's the only thing you can do.

[A]

Well, I know, I think that Trump is going to, and this is, this has been coming for a while, but I think Trump is going to end up having to give preemptive pardons to a lot of members of his administration. But this is going to create, this is going to be tough because Democrats will come in and they'll get ready to do that and they'll do really bad stuff and then they'll have, I mean, look at, look at Hunter Biden. Hunter Biden's a criminal, obviously. I mean, committed many, many crimes and got pardoned by daddy on his way out along with others. And there's no question, although I know it's alleged, but I mean, come on, there's no question about what Hunter Biden was doing. But now I think we're in it. We're in a world where you're going to have to have, prevent preemptive preventative pardons by Trump. I think he's going to have to pardon Pete again. When I say pardon, pardon in advance.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Pete Hegseth, he's going to have to pardon a whole range of people because they were part of his administration.

[B]

I think you are likely correct. And by the way, I think it will become standard that all presidents of all parties just start issuing blanket pardons to a large extent for but here's

[A]

what he should do. He should have the pardons in such a way that it is pardon for any and all, you know, future that, that may, that may have allegedly occurred in the course of his official duties, which of course you shouldn't need a pardon for. But I think that's where I think that's what we're heading Toward it also

[B]

raises the question, and again, this is the legal nerd in me to what extent are preemptive pardons legal? Because typically the president has the power to pardon. And usually the way we see it used is for charges that have occurred or charge investigations that are ongoing for some form of specific element of a, of a, of an act, whereas preemptive pardons are just like kind of blanket. And I think there's probably going to be court challenges on some of those. All right, let's keep going down the list here. Tom in Florida, I think, was the next man up on the, on the team here. Tom, what you got for us?

[C]

Well, you talk about the Democrats like they're crazy and they're way out there. And I think you're being extraordinarily kind because I think they're the greasiest, slimiest bunch of people on planet Earth. They hate this country, they hate the Constitution, they root against everything that's going on in the country. And having said that, between now and 2040, would you guys agree that the Democrats are going to take over the House, the Senate, and the presidency all at once at some point in time? And it happens. I think they promised that they'd end the filibuster first, pack the Supreme Court with six morons like Katanji Brown Jackson second, add two senators in Washington, two senators in Puerto Rico, seven congressmen. And then the fourth thing they'll do is that they'll naturalize every illegal immigrant in this country and the Republicans will never, ever win another election in history and why. Want you to tell me what you think this country is going to look like when and if that happens.

[B]

Okay. There's a lot there. Thank you for the call, Buck. I would bet a lot of money that between now and 2040, so you got 28, 32, 36, 40. That's four different election cycles. Tell me if you would sign off on this. I think it's very likely that in the next 12 years that Democrats, 6 to 14 years, that Democrats will have the House, the Senate and the presidency at some point in time. The next 12 years. I bet you would also not. We're rooting. We're not rooting for it, but I bet you would agree with me on that.

[A]

If you're giving odds on it. I think the odds are pretty high. I don't think anyone could really give of precise odds, but yeah, it's certainly a concern.

[B]

I think it's high. And then to the point that he, he said, which we have said for some time. I think there are a lot of Republicans right now saying I'm going to stay committed to the principle of requiring effectively. And I know there's exemptions and all these different things. 60 votes to really get anything passed in the Senate. Right. I think Democrats will do away with that as soon as they have the presidency, the House and the Senate. I think they will toss that filibuster on the dumpster fire of history. And when they have the ability to use power, they will do you have it? Would you also sign off on that being likely if they get the ability to get the majority again?

[A]

Yeah, they'll, I think they'll go for the jugular and try to create a one party state. I don't, I don't think our caller is wrong at all. I think that's the plan. I think that has been the plan for quite some time. I think that's the, the real plan with illegal immigration, I might add. We always talk about this like, well, what do we do to slow it down and how do we enforce the law and everything else. They still want mass amnesty and the party that delivers mass amnesty knows that they'll be able to count on 70, 80% of the vote of the amnestied, maybe 100%, who knows, but something close to that. But that's the plan to transform the electorate in this country and it's, it's a, an effort to create a one party state and I am very concerned about that. So the amount of time that we have here to try to set things right and this is I think why a lot of people also were so fired up about the Save Save America act and it's not going to pass. And we're, we've been saying this all along. Remember year one, we told you the Trump administration as he was getting stuff done and things were going well said. This is great on task, but enjoy this. I told you, I said the communists are going to come back. The pendulum will swing in the other direction. This is just the nature of our political reality in this country. And Clay here, here's a caller from this is a talk back E from a caller in Fresno, California who was referring to the young guy I think from Ohio who was very frustrated with Trump on Iran and a few other things. This is a response to that play E. That last caller is kind of B.S. trump did everything he did on his agenda in one year almost. He did everything, either the big bill or executive order and it's up to the rest of the Senate and Republicans to Codify it. That's not his. He can't do anything about that.

[B]

He did what he said. First off, that kid who said like, you know, his generation or his people got Trump elected. No, we all got Trump elected. And part of the agenda I wanted taken care of was Iran. I've been waiting decades for someone to

[A]

do this to Iran.

[B]

So. And for you guys to say if things go bad from here, it was a blunder because he loses the midterms. I'm sorry, but decapitating Iran is more important than the midterms.

[A]

Okay, a few things. One, I said it depends on how bad it gets if we have US Troops that end up being deployed to Iran. And for this can get really. I don't think it will. But again, I think that was Alison from LA listens on Keib Clay. We're not getting ahead of where the story actually is and where things actually are right now. And you say that right now about losing them. Okay, Democrats win, let's say the Democrats, Democrats win the House, in the Senate in the midterms. Now you're talking about no more Trump judges, no more Trump appointees. Maybe a Supreme Court vacancy opens up and they have to navigate through that situation. And it means that you have impeachment hearings and the end of the Trump agenda here at home. Here at home. And I think part of the problem here is that, you know, you got Fox News and some very loud voices that are totally focused on Iran right now. I understand why. And so the GOP faithful are like, ok, there's a lot of media attention on Iran. People care about what's happening here in America more than what is happening in Iran, more than what the risk, I think, of Iranian nuclear capability is when it comes to who they're going to vote for. So I, you know, I think that's very valid. Anyway, I didn't say it was going to go bad, just to be clear. I just said if it does go really bad and we lose, then we'll see if people think that this Iran situation was worth it. I mean, I'd also add, if we don't get the concessions, if we don't get the agreement, Iran's going to try to start building nukes again. Everybody. And they're going to have a lot of money when the oil starts to flow. It's not over.

[B]

Here is what I would say. In general, Trump is making decisions that may not pay off beneficially for decades. And I think we live in such a short term attention span world. That's why I Like to go back and look at North Korea if we could. I guarantee you I'd love to have Bill Clinton on and to ask him this question. I bet he would say, he may have said it publicly, since, I wish that I had done something instead of listening to Jimmy Carter. I wish that I had taken out North Korea's ability to ever have nuclear weapons.

[A]

He probably also would say, I wish I hadn't bombed an aspirin factory in Sudan to distract from Monica's testimony at the grand jury.

[B]

Just say, there's probably a lot. I think he would probably say, I wish I'd taken out Osama bin Laden. Right. There's lots of things that you could point to that he would like to change. I think Trump is trying to make decisions, which is honestly, again, this is why the scope and the reach of what Trump is trying to do is actually the exact opposite of a lot of what people say Trump is doing. You know, this, if you study history, most authoritarian dictators are obsessed with what occurs while they are in office. And. And that means that they oftentimes do not make great decisions for the decades into the future. Most of the time, Trump is trying to make decisions right now that are beneficial for decades to come that, frankly, he's probably not going to benefit from politically. And you can agree or disagree with that context. Venezuela, to me, Iran and Cuba are all connected in that way. I also think there's not enough discussion. You mentioned this, Buck, but I do think it's significant. Whatever you think of Trump, Marco Rubio, I think, has done a phenomenal job as Secretary of State. I think that Pete Hegseth has done a really good job as Secretary of War. And certainly JD Vance has been very supportive. I think Trump. And then if you want to toss in Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant, if you want to talk about the top five guys that Trump has right now at the top of his team, I think you can make a real argument that they are the most competent, most intelligent, you know, quintuplet that we have seen running the United States government in a very, very long time. I don't think that's a crazy take at all. And so the idea that Trump is just this mad king and nobody else is able to help him make decisions, I think, frankly, is just. Is just absolutely insane.

[A]

Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld had a lot of acclaim.

[B]

Yeah, that went well.

[A]

That. I'm just saying. I'm just saying we got it. We got to keep it real here. You know, the resume doesn't necessarily translate into the results again, I think, but for so many people here. And I feel the same way on this. Somebody asked me right now, would I bet if I were betting. And I'm just hopeful that this goes well because I bet on America, right? But if you're asking me if I were like my last dollar, I had to put on whether Trump pulls us through this and it ends up being a win, a true win or not, I would say, yeah, I think Trump's gonna, gonna pull this out. But we, we're not there yet. You got to get the straight open. That's why Trump's tweeting, get the straight open or I'm going to destroy your entire civilization. So there's still some work to be done, no doubt.

[B]

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[A]

Welcome back in here to play and Buck, we want to get some of your calls and get to some of the latest thoughts on everything going on in, in Iran. But also want to know, we are going to have The Secretary of HHS, Robert Kennedy Jr. Will be joining us in the second or in the second half of the next hour. We're talking about a lot of the Maha make America healthy again agenda. I want to ask him about peptides. I want to ask him all kinds of things. Where's the FDA on this stuff? Where are all these cures? We got AI now the world of health is about to get a whole lot more interesting and I think data driven and there'll be more access for people to this stuff than ever before. So that's really unique. And we can also ask him whether he thinks Clay is going to be able to continue to bench more than his, his sons for the foreseeable future. I'm not sure. I'm not sure. Some of these boys are looking pretty robust. Clay.

[B]

I, I'm nervous. I was just telling you off air that I'm gonna end up tearing my rotator cuffs and stuff trying to make sure I can still bench more than they can because they, they have the advantage of youth on their side and they're getting a lot stronger very rapidly. So I didn't think I was going to be challenged for, for strength superiority in the house this soon, but the 15 year old is coming for my, my title.

[A]

You know, Carrie and I have started doing yoga together, which is really fun, I have to say. It's really good. I, I've learned I am not flexible.

[B]

Is it yoga or just.

[A]

No, just plain, plain, like slow E. It's like ba. I would say I'm doing yoga for old people, which makes sense.

[B]

You and her or you in a class?

[A]

Yes, we have, we have an instructor.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

The two of us with the instructor. No, I wouldn't do it in front

[B]

of other people because that's what I was wondering.

[A]

Yeah, no, no, I've had bad memories. I tried it. I tried to just jump into a class once at a big commercial gym in New York and I looked like I was having a heart attack in the back. They kept saying chaturanga and I'm like, cheddar. What Shuttle.

[B]

What?

[A]

I have no idea what's going on here. I was like sweating profusely.

[B]

I. It's funny you mentioned that because this morning I was getting ready and there's I guess a clip that's gone viral and it probably circles back around and a bunch of different times, but there's just an old. Have you seen this video? There's an old guy just standing outside of a yoga studio and just there's a huge collection of really good looking women in tight clothes doing yoga poses. And he just stops and stands there and they come and they're like, you have to keep moving, sir. And so I'm thinking to myself, poor guys out for a walk. He didn't know he was going to see 15 gorgeous girls in spandex doing yoga poses. Just stops to look. Next thing you know, he's megaviral on the Internet. Got to keep your head on swivel out there, kids.

[A]

He was just checking out their chaturangas. This is an I heart podcast. Guaranteed human.